Effects of temperature, packaging and electron beam irradiation processing conditions on the property behaviour of Poly (ether-block-amide) blends

Kieran A. Murray, James E. Kennedy, Brian McEvoy, Olivier Vrain, Damien Ryan, Richard Cowman, Clement L. Higginbotham

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The radiation stability of Poly (ether-block-amide) (PEBA) blended with a multifunctional phenolic antioxidant and a hindered amide light stabiliser was examined under various temperatures, packaging and electron beam processing conditions. FTIR revealed that there were slight alterations to the PEBA before irradiation; however, these became more pronounced following irradiation. The effect of varying the temperature, packaging and processing conditions on the resultant PEBA properties was apparent. For example, rheology demonstrated that the structural properties could be enhanced by manipulating the aforementioned criteria. Mechanical testing exhibited less radiation resistance when the PEBA samples were vacuum packed and exposed to irradiation. MFI and AFM confirmed that the melting strength and surface topography could be reduced/increased depending on the conditions employed. From this study it was concluded that virgin PEBA submerged in dry ice with non-vacuum packaging during the irradiation process, provided excellent radiation resistance (20.9% improvement) in contrast to the traditional method.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)380-394
Number of pages15
JournalMaterials Science and Engineering C
Volume39
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2014

Keywords

  • Crosslinking and chain scission
  • Electron beam irradiation
  • Mechanical, thermal, structural and surface properties
  • Packaging and processing conditions
  • Poly (ether-block-amide)
  • Stabilisers

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of temperature, packaging and electron beam irradiation processing conditions on the property behaviour of Poly (ether-block-amide) blends'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this